Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma woos industrialists to invest in Assam, focus on green energy

Guwahati: Assam is exploring the possibility of attracting investment on its green energy revolution ahead of the “Advantage Assam 2.0” business summit which is going to be hosted by the state later this month.

After a tour of South Korea and Japan where he met top industrialists and ministers, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met leading industrialists in Mumbai and invited them to attend the business summit.

In a social media post, Mr Sarma on Sunday said, “Had a great meeting with Shri Mukeshbhai Ambani and Shri Anant Ambani yesterday, and I truly appreciate their time. We had an in-depth discussion on positioning Assam as India’s next hub for Industry 4.0 and explored ways in which Reliance can collaborate with us on this transformative journey.”

During his meeting with the Chairman of JSW Group Sajjan Jindal, the Assam chief minister discussed issues, especially the scope and potential of partnering together, particularly in the infrastructure and energy sectors.

He informed Jindal that Assam is creating a host of opportunities aimed to increase investment in the state. He also said that his government has already initiated steps to strengthen the ecosystem of major investments and startups, paving the way for a prosperous future.

He apprised Mr Jindal that the Assam government approved the Assam Startup and Innovation Policy, which offers various fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to encourage entrepreneurs and to support 5,000 startups as well as create 100,000 job opportunities over the next five years.

Drawing attention to Assam's green energy revolution, Mr Sarma said that from floating solar and bio-CNG to green hydrogen and ATJ fuel, new investment opportunities are emerging very fast and thick in Assam. Moreover, backed by investor-friendly policies, the state is ready for a sustainable future, he added.

Mr Sarma also met the Chairman of Welspun World BK Goenka and held talks on sectors such as textile, energy, water treatment and infrastructure.

He invited Mr Goenka to the business summit, assuring that the state government is keen to forge an enabling landscape for Welspun World Group to reap business dividends from its investment in Assam. He said Advantage Assam 2.0 will be the right platform to turn its business proposals into action.

Mr Sarma also met Vice Chairman of Essar Group Mr Ravi Ruia and discussed prospective collaboration with the group in manufacturing electric trucks in Assam and projects in the renewable energy sector.

It is significant that a major producer of crude oil and natural gas, Assam has four refineries. One of them, the Numaligarh Refineries Limited, is in the process of setting up a Rs 1,750-crore biorefinery unit to produce bioethanol from 5-lakh metric tonnes of bamboo per annum. In April 2024, the public sector Oil India Limited commissioned “India’s first 99.999% pure” green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.

Assam’s “game-changing” project is expected to be the Rs 27,000 crore semiconductor plant undertaken by Tata Electronics at Jagiroad, about 60 km east of Guwahati. The plant is designed to produce 4.83 crore chips per day using indigenously developed technologies.